Bechtel marks major milestone at McCarran Airport expansion project

Bechtel has achieved a major milestone at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV: substantial completion of the Terminal 3 building. Retailers, airlines, and airport services are now fitting the completed building with finishings prior to the new terminal opening later in June. Bechtel is managing the $2.4 billion expansion project for the Clark County Department of Aviation. The new terminal will increase capacity of the airport to 53 million passengers per year as compared with the 2007 peak of nearly 48 million passengers.

“This was the biggest expansion project ever undertaken at McCarran and it has probably been the most challenging one. Bechtel’s detailed planning, regular communications, and problem-solving ability have helped to ensure the success of this project, and we are delighted that Terminal 3 can soon welcome even more people to Las Vegas,” said Randall H. Walker, director of aviation for Clark County.

“Building Terminal 3 while the rest of the airport was still operational has been challenging, but our longstanding partnership with the Clark County Department of Aviation has been instrumental to our completion of this project on schedule,” added Don Wright, Bechtel’s project manager at McCarran International Airport.

Bechtel has been managing the design and construction of the Terminal 3 program at McCarran since June 2005. In order to accommodate growing numbers of passengers, the airport had to increase its number of aircraft gates, ground transportation access, and egress points, as well as its passenger security screening capacity. The new 1.9-million–square-foot (176,530-sqaure-meter) terminal building will open with 14 additional gates, a new parking garage for approximately 6,000 cars, a revised road access system, and an underground automated tram system. Additional baggage handling capacity and access to the other existing airport concourses have also been added, allowing passengers to get more quickly to and from both new and existing gates.

Operational facilities provided include an aircraft apron in front of the Terminal 3 building, including wet and dry utilities; a jet fuel system; taxiway lighting and apron lighting; and a new central utility plant. Two new electrical duct banks from offsite Nevada Energy substations were also completed to supply Terminal 3 with power.

The remaining Terminal 3 work is primarily baggage handling system testing and fit-out activities to accommodate the airlines, retail spaces, restaurants, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Transportation Safety Administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Replacement of an apron around the existing D Concourse must also be completed to allow aircraft access to the new terminal.

Terminal 3 will serve both domestic and international carriers and is scheduled to open June 27.

Bechtel has been working with Clark County Department of Aviation, managing the modification, upgrade and expansion of McCarran International Airport, since 1981. Previous work included the expansion of the original Terminal 1 building; the addition of two multi-story parking garages; and construction of the C and D gates concourses, including automated tram systems; new runways and roads; and new baggage handling facilities.

Bechtel has successfully completed some of the largest and most complex airport projects in the world, including Hong Kong Airport Core Program, San Francisco International Airport, Dubai International Airport, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and Miami International Airport.

Bechtel is currently working on New Doha International Airport, Muscat International Airport, and the Gatwick Airport Expansion project.